“Even a small ethical misstep can undermine public trust and end a career. When in doubt, don’t.”
– Jennifer Wallace, WACO Executive Director
At this year’s Annual Conference, WACO hosted an education session on Elected County Officials Ethics. The subject is a staple, getting requested year after year by both newly electeds and seasoned officials – and there’s a good reason why.
“Every local government employee and official is tasked with ethical decision-making daily,” Says Erin Konrady, the Director of Member Services at the Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP), “from simple and tempting things like accepting gifts or misusing county resources, all the way up to land use decisions, civil rights violations -- and everything in between.”
This year’s education session on ethics was a joint effort between WACO and WCRP to help elected officials further understand the implications, responsibilities, and especially risks, that are inherent in their positions.
“Ethics and risk go hand-in-hand.” Konrady stated when asked about the relationship between the two, “When a local government employee or official makes an unethical decision, they are exposing their employer, and essentially the taxpayers, to liability claims and reputational damage that can cause negative impacts to their organization and community for years to come.”
While it may seem like a dramatization, Erin’s not wrong. Not only can the effects of ethical violations result in hefty financial civil penalties, potential for additional civil and criminal penalties, and loss of office – they can risk the public trust in the office and institution outside of the individual official, sometimes indefinitely.
So where do folks seem to struggle the most with ethics in the government sector? How can they mitigate the risk of making a decision that could hurt them and the community they strive to serve? Erin was happy to share some thoughts.
“The expectations of citizens regarding the need for [government sector] employees to engage in ethical behavior is at an all-time high, yet there is often confusion regarding what that really means in practice. Ethical standards can be very different in the public sector than in the private sector and may sometimes seem to conflict with excellent customer service expectations. It can also be a challenge for an elected official to achieve the things they promised to deliver on while campaigning, but without crossing any ethical lines.
Training is one of the most valuable proactive resources out there to reduce and mitigate risk. Although some training topics can seem boring to cover, repeated education will keep folks up to date on the most recent laws, mandates, and best practices in order to navigate the roads ahead as confidently and as best they can. “
All sources tend to agree. A quick search through the library of articles and resources from Municipal Research and Services Center reveals over 700 articles, videos, and resources tagged as ethics related. The Department of Enterprise Services offers frequent courses on essential ethics and has a full tool kit available. WACO receives requests for ethics overviews and advice on situations frequently. In addition, entire organizations like the Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP) exist to serve counties and help them navigate these risks.
“Investing in the employees who serve our local communities by providing them with tools to make ethical and well informed decisions is a top priority of the WCRP.” Said Erin, and that statement rings true to the core of WCRP’s mission. The Washington Counties Risk Pool was "Created by Counties for Counties" in 1988 and pursuant to Chapters 48.62 and 39.34 RCW it provides member counties programs of joint insurance & insurance purchasing, claims handling, administrative services, and very importantly, contracting for or hiring of personnel to provide risk management.
With that in mind, we asked if there were any resources that the WCRP would recommend to help the continuous work of managing ethical risks while holding office.
“The WCRP will be providing upcoming virtual offerings of the Ethics Decision-Making workshop, instructed by Janet May of Sound Employment Solutions. This training is very popular, it’s free to members of the WCRP, and we recommend visiting the WCRP’s Training page for the latest training listings and to keep your eye out for the next offering.”
Use this link to check your county’s membership status – 24/39 counties are active WCRP members!
“Members of the WCRP also have free access to an Ethical Behavior for Corrections Officers online course, through the WCRP’s Online University.
We also recommend turning to the Municipal Research and Services Center’s ethics recourses and locating and reviewing your county’s ethics policies. Lastly, each county has a designated Risk Manager, and we highly encourage using them as a resource when you have questions about risk management or other resources offered by the WCRP.”
Additional resources are also available to help keep you and your staff informed.
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Thank you to WACO Annual Conference Sponsor Washington Counties Risk Pool for making the 2023 Elected County Officials Ethics sessions possible.
WCRP is a risk management pool with a membership consisting of a majority of Washington’s 39 counties. Learn more: https://www.wcrp.info/